When data is transmitted through a channel, such as a metal wire or a through-silicon-via (TSV), the channel may distort the data as it passes through the channel. For example, the channel may filter out high frequency components of a digital data signal, thereby reducing the “sharpness” of transitions, increasing inter-symbol interference, decreasing the time the data of the signal is valid, and so forth.
Various techniques exist to compensate for the distortion caused by the channel, either before the data is transmitted on the transmitter side of the channel, or after it is received on the receiver side of the channel. As one example, an equalizer circuit may be used on the transmitter side to “pre-emphasize” data transitions in a digital data signal before it is transmitted through the channel. Such equalization typically aims to boost the voltage and/or current provided to the channel in order to compensate for high frequency losses of the channel. However, many such equalization circuits need dedicated control circuitry, including for example an edge detector, in order to be able to effectively pre-emphasize the data transitions.